General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (“GATT”)

An agreement which, in part restores copyright protection for certain foreign works that have lost copyright in the United States. The loss of copyright would have occurred for one of the following reasons:

  1. Failure to comply with certain “formalities” of United States law. These formalities include:
    i. publication without notice prior to March 1, 1989.
    ii. failure to renew an old law work within the time limit that applied to that work.
    iii. failure to comply with the provisions of the “manufacturing clause.”
  2. Lack of subject matter protection in the case of sound recordings fixed before February 15,1972.
  3. Lack of national eligibility.

Registration using Form GATT can be for a “single work” or for a “series of works published under a single title in multiple episodes, installments, or issues during the same calendar year.” GATT/Group registration, which allowed a broader scope for group registration, was eliminated effective July 1, 2006.

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